Priya Lakhani is an entrepreneur who has founded a food business, a social  enterprise, and now leads a company developing the latest artificial intelligence  and big data technology to understand how the brain learns.  

Having trained as a barrister, Priya left the security of the legal profession to  pursue her passion for business. She founded the Masala Masala food brand and  built it from a kitchen table idea to a line of products stocked in major  supermarkets. After this initial success she went on establish a charity based on the  model that for every unit of a product sold, a life-changing item was donated (for  example, a meal, a vaccination) to those in need.  

Priya’s next business, Century Tech, is a company bringing together AI,  neuroscience and education. Century’s aim is to measure and simulate brain  responses to tuition, analyse what works for whom and how, and ultimately  produce personalised learning. By understanding how the brain learns and  responds, educators can receive real-time insights, tailoring the learning  experience and improving student performance. 

 In presentations, Priya looks at the cutting-edge work her company is carrying out,  and the lessons for training and education and as well as companies seeking to  innovate and emulate the startup ethos. She speaks about her entrepreneurial  experiences, especially as a non-technical person running a tech business, and  looks at what innovation is and how to embed it into a culture. She also tackles  diversity, talent and culture within organisations and wider areas of skills,  employment and the business environment.  

As well as starting businesses Priya has worked with government as a member of  the Department of Business, Education and Skills’ Entrepreneur Forum. She is a  regular contributor to BBC News’ and BBC World News’ review of global  headlines. She has also advised a number of education and skills organisations, and  was named as an Entrepreneur of the Year and in Management Today’s ’35  Women Under 35’ list.

Tim Stone was appointed Chairman of the NIA on 5 December 2018. Tim has a wealth of experience in infrastructure, nuclear power and finance, with several years’ experience working closely with government and industry in a variety of roles. He is a non-executive director of both the Arup Group board and Horizon Nuclear Power.

Until 2013, Tim was the Expert Chair of the Office for Nuclear Development in DECC and the Senior Advisor to successive Secretaries of State responsible for energy.

He has been awarded the Hinton Prize by the Nuclear Institute for outstanding contributions to the nuclear industry.

Stuart began his career as a 16 year-old electrical apprentice working on installations and maintenance of equipment. He joined the nuclear industry after completing an apprenticeship in 1986 at Heysham 2, working with the team on the installation and commissioning of the main computer control and protection systems. Following completion of his qualifications in electrical engineering he later graduated in Applied Physics after completing an honours degree at Manchester Polytechnic. He then went on to complete an MBA at Lancaster University - all part time while enjoying a career at Heysham 2 where he progressed through various engineering roles.

Following a spell in international business development associated with the acquisition of nuclear power plants in the USA, he returned to the UK at Dungeness B undertaking a variety of operations and engineering roles before being appointed as Deputy Station Director.  Stuart spent five years as Station Director at Hartlepool Power Station, leading several substantial engineering projects to restore the plant to operational service. Following the return to service of the units in 2009 he was appointed Safety and Technical Director. This was followed by taking over as MD Generation on 1 Jan 2014 responsible for the EDF Energy fleet of nuclear, coal gas and renewable assets.

Stuart is now the Managing Director of Hinkley Point C, and has held this post since the 8th September 2017, reporting to the CEO of EDF Energy.

Stuart has been married for the last 32 years and has three children and five grandchildren.

Malcolm has recently retired, after almost fourteen years, as Chief Executive of Harlow Council where he led its transformation from one of the worst performing Councils in the country to an award winning Council.  He has consistently been at the forefront of partnership working within the public sector and created multi-million pound joint ventures between the public and private sectors for a diverse range of services and assets.  He has a long track record of innovation, entrepreneurship, leveraging public sector investment to achieve a multiple of private sector investment, community engagement and the delivery of regeneration. 

Malcolm is a Visiting Professor at the Business Schools of Anglia Ruskin and Bedfordshire Universities specialising in strategic management and leadership.  He is also a Non-Executive Director of the c.£5billion turnover Health Education England and is Chairman of its Audit and Risk Committee.

Drawing upon his public, private and academic experience he is the author of two books: Understanding Markets and Strategy: How to exploit markets for sustainable business growth, and The Public Private Partnership Handbook: How to maximise value from joint working.  He has had over 200 articles published and contributes to the World Bank’s knowledge dissemination on public private partnerships.  He has extensive experience as a management consultant of advising the Boards of a wide range of private sector companies on the development of competitive strategies and the management of organisational strategic and cultural change.

Corhyn started her career as a mechanical engineer and has delivered decommissioning and new build projects at Sellafield, AWE and Dungeness B before moving into business development and management.

She branched out in 2007 and established a consultancy business, Nuclear Enterprise, creating and delivering major growth plans for an international client base.

More recently she delivered the role of Managing Director of Cavendish’s UK Projects Business before joining AECOM in 2016 as Vice President for the Nuclear and Environment business. 

A perpetual advocate and supporter of the nuclear industry through  the Nuclear Institute, she has had the pleasure to chair the Young Generation Network, been a Board Member of the Nuclear Institute and Technical Editor of the Nuclear Future Journal. She has also served as the Chair of the Nuclear Power Committee of the IMechE, and been an editor of the IMechE Journal of Power and Energy. She currently chairs the NIA Decommissioning and Existing Generation Working Group which comprises over 500 members.  

Ian Chapman is CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Head of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.  He has held a number of international roles in fusion, including Chair of ITER international working groups.  He has published over 110 journal papers, one of which was shortlisted for the Nuclear Fusion Award in 2013, and given 30 invited lead-author presentations at international conferences. 

He received the European Physical Society Early Career Prize in 2014, the Institute of Physics Paterson Medal in 2013, the IUPAP Plasma Physics Young Scientist Prize in 2012 and the Cavendish Medal for Best early-career UK physicist in 2011. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2013 and became a visiting Professor at Durham University in 2015.

Duncan Hawthorne was appointed Horizon CEO in May 2016 having been a non-executive Director of Horizon since 2013 and CEO of Bruce Power, one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants since it was formed in 2001.

He is the Former Chairman of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

He brings a wealth of industry experience having worked in the power generation business for 30 years, holding senior positions in power companies in the U.K., U.S. and Canada. 

Originally from Scotland, Duncan joined the electricity board as an apprentice with British Energy. At 21, he went to Strathclyde University in Scotland on a scholarship. Hawthorne progressed through all the engineering positions to director of British Energy and then board member.

He is a Fellow of both the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Julia is the Nuclear Development Director for EDF Energy, and is working with Government to identify an innovative way for Sizewell C to be funded at best value to electricity consumers, and with potential investors and lenders to raise the investment required.

Julia joined EDF Energy in 2017, focussing on Sizewell C and the decommissioning of AGRs. Prior to her move to EDF, Julia was Head of Power and Renewables for UK, US & Europe at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.  From HSF she led a cross-practice team advising on Hinkley Point C from 2006 until the Final Investment Decision in 2016.

Zheng Dongshan is the Chief Executive Officer of CGN UK (also known as General Nuclear International, or GNI), with overall oversight and responsibility for CGN’s business activities in the UK.

Born in Hubei Province, China, Dongshan graduated from Xi’an Jiatong University before going on to receive a Masters from Huazhong University of Science & Technology.  He joined the Guangdong Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Ltd (a subsidiary of CGN) in 1984 and trained in France to be a safety technical advisor.

He has held a number of roles within CGN, including: Deputy General Manager of the Daya Bay nuclear power station; General Manager of Yangjiang nuclear power station; and eventually General Manager of the China Nuclear Power Engineering Company, charged with taking forward CGN’s nuclear new build programme, before he came to the UK in 2016.  From 2008-2017 he was Senior Vice President of CGN.

Valerie Drake has over 30 years’ experience in the nuclear sector during which she has held a variety of roles in decommissioning, waste and fuels management and has formerly represented the UK on several expert groups.

Valerie has led the technical strategy development of a number of decommissioning and waste management closure projects for both UK and non UK nuclear sites.  She recently completed a five year secondment from Cavendish Nuclear to Magnox Ltd where she was responsible for the Magnox integrated waste strategy and delivery of the associated permissioning activities.

Priya Lakhani is an entrepreneur who has founded a food business, a social  enterprise, and now leads a company developing the latest artificial intelligence  and big data technology to understand how the brain learns.  

Having trained as a barrister, Priya left the security of the legal profession to  pursue her passion for business. She founded the Masala Masala food brand and  built it from a kitchen table idea to a line of products stocked in major  supermarkets. After this initial success she went on establish a charity based on the  model that for every unit of a product sold, a life-changing item was donated (for  example, a meal, a vaccination) to those in need.  

Priya’s next business, Century Tech, is a company bringing together AI,  neuroscience and education. Century’s aim is to measure and simulate brain  responses to tuition, analyse what works for whom and how, and ultimately  produce personalised learning. By understanding how the brain learns and  responds, educators can receive real-time insights, tailoring the learning  experience and improving student performance. 

 In presentations, Priya looks at the cutting-edge work her company is carrying out,  and the lessons for training and education and as well as companies seeking to  innovate and emulate the startup ethos. She speaks about her entrepreneurial  experiences, especially as a non-technical person running a tech business, and  looks at what innovation is and how to embed it into a culture. She also tackles  diversity, talent and culture within organisations and wider areas of skills,  employment and the business environment.  

As well as starting businesses Priya has worked with government as a member of  the Department of Business, Education and Skills’ Entrepreneur Forum. She is a  regular contributor to BBC News’ and BBC World News’ review of global  headlines. She has also advised a number of education and skills organisations, and  was named as an Entrepreneur of the Year and in Management Today’s ’35  Women Under 35’ list.

Tim Stone was appointed Chairman of the NIA on 5 December 2018. Tim has a wealth of experience in infrastructure, nuclear power and finance, with several years’ experience working closely with government and industry in a variety of roles. He is a non-executive director of both the Arup Group board and Horizon Nuclear Power.

Until 2013, Tim was the Expert Chair of the Office for Nuclear Development in DECC and the Senior Advisor to successive Secretaries of State responsible for energy.

He has been awarded the Hinton Prize by the Nuclear Institute for outstanding contributions to the nuclear industry.

Stuart began his career as a 16 year-old electrical apprentice working on installations and maintenance of equipment. He joined the nuclear industry after completing an apprenticeship in 1986 at Heysham 2, working with the team on the installation and commissioning of the main computer control and protection systems. Following completion of his qualifications in electrical engineering he later graduated in Applied Physics after completing an honours degree at Manchester Polytechnic. He then went on to complete an MBA at Lancaster University - all part time while enjoying a career at Heysham 2 where he progressed through various engineering roles.

Following a spell in international business development associated with the acquisition of nuclear power plants in the USA, he returned to the UK at Dungeness B undertaking a variety of operations and engineering roles before being appointed as Deputy Station Director.  Stuart spent five years as Station Director at Hartlepool Power Station, leading several substantial engineering projects to restore the plant to operational service. Following the return to service of the units in 2009 he was appointed Safety and Technical Director. This was followed by taking over as MD Generation on 1 Jan 2014 responsible for the EDF Energy fleet of nuclear, coal gas and renewable assets.

Stuart is now the Managing Director of Hinkley Point C, and has held this post since the 8th September 2017, reporting to the CEO of EDF Energy.

Stuart has been married for the last 32 years and has three children and five grandchildren.

Malcolm has recently retired, after almost fourteen years, as Chief Executive of Harlow Council where he led its transformation from one of the worst performing Councils in the country to an award winning Council.  He has consistently been at the forefront of partnership working within the public sector and created multi-million pound joint ventures between the public and private sectors for a diverse range of services and assets.  He has a long track record of innovation, entrepreneurship, leveraging public sector investment to achieve a multiple of private sector investment, community engagement and the delivery of regeneration. 

Malcolm is a Visiting Professor at the Business Schools of Anglia Ruskin and Bedfordshire Universities specialising in strategic management and leadership.  He is also a Non-Executive Director of the c.£5billion turnover Health Education England and is Chairman of its Audit and Risk Committee.

Drawing upon his public, private and academic experience he is the author of two books: Understanding Markets and Strategy: How to exploit markets for sustainable business growth, and The Public Private Partnership Handbook: How to maximise value from joint working.  He has had over 200 articles published and contributes to the World Bank’s knowledge dissemination on public private partnerships.  He has extensive experience as a management consultant of advising the Boards of a wide range of private sector companies on the development of competitive strategies and the management of organisational strategic and cultural change.

Corhyn started her career as a mechanical engineer and has delivered decommissioning and new build projects at Sellafield, AWE and Dungeness B before moving into business development and management.

She branched out in 2007 and established a consultancy business, Nuclear Enterprise, creating and delivering major growth plans for an international client base.

More recently she delivered the role of Managing Director of Cavendish’s UK Projects Business before joining AECOM in 2016 as Vice President for the Nuclear and Environment business. 

A perpetual advocate and supporter of the nuclear industry through  the Nuclear Institute, she has had the pleasure to chair the Young Generation Network, been a Board Member of the Nuclear Institute and Technical Editor of the Nuclear Future Journal. She has also served as the Chair of the Nuclear Power Committee of the IMechE, and been an editor of the IMechE Journal of Power and Energy. She currently chairs the NIA Decommissioning and Existing Generation Working Group which comprises over 500 members.  

Ian Chapman is CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Head of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.  He has held a number of international roles in fusion, including Chair of ITER international working groups.  He has published over 110 journal papers, one of which was shortlisted for the Nuclear Fusion Award in 2013, and given 30 invited lead-author presentations at international conferences. 

He received the European Physical Society Early Career Prize in 2014, the Institute of Physics Paterson Medal in 2013, the IUPAP Plasma Physics Young Scientist Prize in 2012 and the Cavendish Medal for Best early-career UK physicist in 2011. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2013 and became a visiting Professor at Durham University in 2015.

Duncan Hawthorne was appointed Horizon CEO in May 2016 having been a non-executive Director of Horizon since 2013 and CEO of Bruce Power, one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants since it was formed in 2001.

He is the Former Chairman of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

He brings a wealth of industry experience having worked in the power generation business for 30 years, holding senior positions in power companies in the U.K., U.S. and Canada. 

Originally from Scotland, Duncan joined the electricity board as an apprentice with British Energy. At 21, he went to Strathclyde University in Scotland on a scholarship. Hawthorne progressed through all the engineering positions to director of British Energy and then board member.

He is a Fellow of both the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Julia is the Nuclear Development Director for EDF Energy, and is working with Government to identify an innovative way for Sizewell C to be funded at best value to electricity consumers, and with potential investors and lenders to raise the investment required.

Julia joined EDF Energy in 2017, focussing on Sizewell C and the decommissioning of AGRs. Prior to her move to EDF, Julia was Head of Power and Renewables for UK, US & Europe at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.  From HSF she led a cross-practice team advising on Hinkley Point C from 2006 until the Final Investment Decision in 2016.

Zheng Dongshan is the Chief Executive Officer of CGN UK (also known as General Nuclear International, or GNI), with overall oversight and responsibility for CGN’s business activities in the UK.

Born in Hubei Province, China, Dongshan graduated from Xi’an Jiatong University before going on to receive a Masters from Huazhong University of Science & Technology.  He joined the Guangdong Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company Ltd (a subsidiary of CGN) in 1984 and trained in France to be a safety technical advisor.

He has held a number of roles within CGN, including: Deputy General Manager of the Daya Bay nuclear power station; General Manager of Yangjiang nuclear power station; and eventually General Manager of the China Nuclear Power Engineering Company, charged with taking forward CGN’s nuclear new build programme, before he came to the UK in 2016.  From 2008-2017 he was Senior Vice President of CGN.

Valerie Drake has over 30 years’ experience in the nuclear sector during which she has held a variety of roles in decommissioning, waste and fuels management and has formerly represented the UK on several expert groups.

Valerie has led the technical strategy development of a number of decommissioning and waste management closure projects for both UK and non UK nuclear sites.  She recently completed a five year secondment from Cavendish Nuclear to Magnox Ltd where she was responsible for the Magnox integrated waste strategy and delivery of the associated permissioning activities.